Sometimes it felt like he was a shooting star hurtling toward earth, and no matter what he did there were only two options available: burn out or crash.
So he did nothing at all while he waited to see which fate awaited him.
Chapter 3
Winniepulledbackfromher sewing machine and grabbed her phone when it beeped with an incoming message.
Was it Horace? She felt like a teenager again, hoping the dreamiest boy in school, Gerard Hammond, would notice her.
And just like when she was a teenager, and Gerard would walk by without saying hello, her heart dropped when it wasn’t Horace’s name lighting up her phone.
Walt:Are we in agreement that Asher is the target?
This was good. This would give her something to focus on, other than the fact that Horace didn’t have time for her anymore.
She was glad he and Smitty were best friends now. It was much better than them being enemies. She didn’t have to hear Horace complain nonstop about Smitty. Or watch their terrible plans go awry.
No, instead, she was just … lonely.
Between their tee-times and lunch meetings and the trips they took to Arizona for the Super bowl and the numerous car shows in Scottsdale, she felt like she rarely saw Horace anymore. And when she did, he was always telling her about this or that thing Smitty had said.
She’d be happy to never hear the name Smitty again. And to have her husband back. Some of the women at the Palms told her she was lucky to offload her husband so often, but she didn’t feel lucky. Winnie was a shy person by nature, and without Horace there, she was spending entirely too much time in her head.
Polly:I like him. He’s always been kind to me.
Don:He towed someone’s car a few days ago. That shows a strong backbone.
Winnie winced. She’d heard about that from Eliana, who had been none too happy to learn she was going to have to drive across town to retrieve her car.
Nancy:That was Eliana’s car!
Walt:So, they’re off to a rocky start. It’s not the first time.
Rosa:It’s a thin line between hate and love!
Don:I’ve always liked a challenge.
Winnie:I’m glad you like a challenge, Don, because a towed car is the least of our worries.
Don:Operation Unhappily Single
Polly:I’m sure Winnie doesn’t want her granddaughter to be unhappy, even if she chooses to stay single.
How could Winnie convince Eliana to give relationships a second chance? Her friends needed to understand Eliana’s past so they could help brainstorm how to get her to trust relationships again.
Winnie:Can you video chat?
All but Harry and Nancy could video chat, so the other five of them popped onto the link Nancy had set up. Winnie didn’t know how it worked, but as long as she clicked on the link, the option for video chat with the Secret Seven, her matchmaking group of friends, always came up.
Polly had her large headphones on her ears, while behind her, geriatrics were doing downward dog on yoga mats in front of Paradise Lake.
“Can you hear me?” Polly asked, nearly shouting.
“We can,” Walt said, gruffly. “How do you turn the sound down on these phones again?”
“There’s a button on the side,” Don said. “Okay, what did you need to talk to us about?” He sat on a weight bench at the empty gym with his phone propped up where they could watch him do bicep curls.
At least he wasn’t on the toilet, like Harry that one time when he forgot they could see—and hear—him. She shuddered.
